Is baking powder gluten-free?

What is baking powder? Is it gluten-free? The short answer is “Most probably”. We checked whether all 3 ingredients: baking soda, the acids and the starches are gluten-free. We also included the list of gluten-free baking powder brands we know of as well as some corn-free, aluminium-free and sodium-free alternatives.

What is baking powder?

Baking powder is used in gluten-free baking as a leavening or rising agent. If you want a fluffy pancake or a soft and airy chocolate cake, you need something to help it rise. The most popular and the easiest choice would be baking powder, which creates little bubbles within the dough or batter once it is activated. These bubbles will make your recipe light and bouncy.

Baking powder has 3 ingredients:

• base, which is usually baking soda
• acid
• filler, which is usually some kind of starch to prevent the base and the acid from reacting to each other pre-maturely

There are 2 types of baking powder:

• Single-acting – It means that there is only one acid in the mix, which is either fast-acting meaning you need to cook the batter quickly, or you lose all the rising power aka the bubbles will pop out or slow-acting meaning it does not react until it is heated.
• Double-acting – It usually means that there are two acids, one reacts quickly, one reacts only in the oven.

So where is the gluten in baking powder? Let’s see the ingredients one by one.

Is baking soda gluten-free?

In short, YES!!! Baking soda is also known as sodium bicarbonate. It is a dry white powder. If it is combined with an acidic substance or if it is heated above 122 Fahrenheit (50 degrees) by itself, it will release carbon dioxide gas. Hello bubbles! Carbon dioxide is also the fizz in your soda. As more gas is released, the dough or batter expands thus creating a leavened result.

Baking soda is a chemical and it is manufactured using a Solvay process. It is very scientific and done in a very strict and controlled environment, so there is really nowhere near any gluten-containing ingredients. If you are interested in knowing more, read this article about How baking soda is made.

What about the acid part? Is it gluten-free?

In short, YES!!! Interestingly when people hear about baking powder, they assume that the acid part is cream of tartar (aka tartaric acid aka potassium bitartrate). However, the most commonly used acids in baking powder are

1. monocalcium phosphate,
2. sodium acid pyrophosphate,
3. sodium aluminum phosphate (it may give a metallic taste),
4. sodium aluminum sulfate (it may give a metallic taste).

These acids are synthesised, purified and dried chemicals going through a controlled laboratory environment. I read quite an extensive article about How is baking powder made, which kind of ensured me that there is no gluten-containing ingredient anywhere near these acids.

Is the starch in the baking powder gluten-free?

In short, USUALLY YES!!! The most common starch that is used is corn starch or potato starch, which is naturally gluten-free. The only thing you need to pay attention to is cross-contamination. As per FDA’s labelling rule, if the packaging states “gluten-free” that means cross-contamination can only happen with less than 20 ppm, which is an amount that has been deemed safe by celiac disease experts.

Baking powder may contain other starches like wheat starch (NOT gluten-free), so always check the label before purchasing. For example Alsa baking powder* is not gluten-free as it contains wheat starch.

Gluten-free baking powder brands

Here are a list of brands where the baking powder is supposed to be gluten-free based on its ingredients. However, we differentiate between products labelled gluten-free and not. As per FDA’s labelling rule, if the packaging labelled as “gluten-free” that means cross-contamination can only happen with less than 20 ppm, which is an amount that has been deemed safe by celiac disease experts.

(The links with * leads to Amazon, where I get a small commission after purchases with no extra cost to you.)

Products labelled as gluten-free

• Argo* – It is a double-acting baking powder with two types of acids that is labelled as gluten-free (Sodium bicarbonate, Corn starch, Monocalcium phosphate, Sodium acid pyrophosphate)
• Bob’s Red Mill* – It is a double-acting baking powder with two types of acids that is labelled as gluten-free (Sodium acid pyrophosphate, Sodium bicarbonate, Corn starch, Monocalcium phosphate)
• Clabber Girl* – It is a double-acting baking powder with two types of acids that is labelled as gluten-free (Sodium bicarbonate, Corn starch, Monocalcium phosphate, Sodium Aluminium Sulfate)
• Davis* – It is a double-acting baking powder with two types of acids that is labelled as gluten-free (Sodium bicarbonate, Corn starch, Monocalcium phosphate, Sodium Aluminium Sulfate)
• Goldbaums* – It is a double-acting baking powder with two types of acids that is labelled as gluten-free (Potato starch, sodium pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, and calcium sulfate)
• Hain Pure Foods Featherweight* – It is labelled as gluten-free (Monocalcium phosphate, Potato starch, Potassium bicarbonate)
• I’m Free* – It is labelled as gluten-free (Non-trans palm lipid, sodium acid phosphate, sodium bicarbonate)
• Royal* – It is a double-acting baking powder with two types of acids that is labelled as gluten-free (Sodium bicarbonate, Corn starch, Monocalcium phosphate, Sodium Aluminium Sulfate)
• Rumford* – It is labelled as gluten-free (Corn starch, Sodium bicarbonate, Monocalcium phosphate)

Not labelled as gluten-free, but ingredients are supposed to be gluten-free

• Gefen* – It is not labelled as gluten-free so cross-contamination is possible even if the ingredients are supposed to be gluten-free (Potato starch, Sodium bicarbonate, Sodium pyrophosphate)
• Kraft Calumet* – It is a double-acting baking powder with two types of acids that is not labelled as gluten-free so cross-contamination is possible even if the ingredients are supposed to be gluten-free (Sodium bicarbonate, Corn starch, Monocalcium phosphate, Sodium aluminium sulfate, Calcium sulfate)
• Medley Hill Farms*– It is a double-acting baking powder, not labelled as gluten-free, even if the ingredients are supposed to be as there is a warning stating “manufactured on the same line as products containing: wheat, milk, soy and sulfites”. The ingredients are sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, and monocalcium phosphate.
• Red Star* – It is a double-acting baking powder, not labelled as gluten-free, even if the ingredients are supposed to be as there is a warning stating “produced in a facility that processes: gluten, soy and milk”. The ingredients are sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate.
• Roots* – It is labelled as gluten-free, but there is a warning stating “packed in a facility that process gluten”. The ingredients are Corn starch, Sodium bicarbonate, Sodium acid pyrophosphate
• Target (Good & Gather) – It is a double-acting baking powder with two types of acids that is not labelled as gluten-free so cross-contamination is possible even if the ingredients are supposed to be gluten-free (Sodium bicarbonate, Corn starch, Monocalcium phosphate, Sodium Aluminium Sulfate)
• Trader Joe’s* – It say double-acting baking powder, but there is only one acid among the ingredients. It is also not labelled as gluten-free so cross-contamination is possible even if the ingredients are supposed to be gluten-free (Sodium bicarbonate, Corn starch, Monocalcium phosphate)
• Walmart – It is a double-acting baking powder with two types of acids that is not labelled as gluten-free, but the warning only say “may contain traces of milks, eggs, almonds, coconut and soy. (Sodium aluminium sulfate, Sodium bicarbonate, Corn starch, Monocalcium phosphate)
• Whole Foods (365)* – It is not labelled as gluten-free so cross-contamination is possible even if the ingredients are supposed to be gluten-free (Sodium bicarbonate, Corn starch, Monocalcium phosphate)

Brands for multiple allergies

Gluten-free and Corn-free

Here is the list of gluten-free baking powder brands from the previous list that also corn-free:

• Goldbaums* – Double-acting and labelled as gluten-free with potato starch
• Hain Pure Foods Featherweight* – Single-acting and labelled as gluten-free with potato starch
• I’m Free* – Single-acting and labelled as gluten-free with non-trans palm lipid
• Gefen* – Single-acting, but not labelled as gluten-free so cross-contamination is possible even if the ingredients are supposed to be gluten-free as it uses potato starch

Gluten-free and Aluminium-free

To have an aluminium-free baking powder, you need to choose a product that uses one of either monocalcium phosphate or sodium acid pyrophosphate as acid. And avoid those products that uses sodium aluminum phosphate or sodium aluminum sulfate. Here is the list of gluten-free baking powder brands from the previous list that also aluminium-free:

• Argo* – Double-acting and labelled as gluten-free using monocalcium phosphate and sodium acid pyrophosphate
• Bob’s Red Mill* – Double-acting and labelled as gluten-free using monocalcium phosphate and sodium acid pyrophosphate
• Goldbaums* – Double-acting and labelled as gluten-free using sodium acid pyrophosphate and calcium sulfate.
• Hain Pure Foods Featherweight* – Single-acting and labelled gluten-free using monocalcium phosphate
• I’m Free* – Single-acting and labelled gluten-free using sodium acid phosphate
• Rumford* – Single-acting and labelled gluten-free using monocalcium phosphate

Gluten-free and Sodium-free

To have a sodium-free baking powder, you need to choose a product that do not use baking soda aka sodium bicarbonate. It doesn’t really matter now that acids might also contain sodium, as you need to substitute baking soda somehow then. I found only one gluten-free baking powder brand from the previous list that also sodium-free:

• Hain Pure Foods Featherweight* – It is labelled as gluten-free (Monocalcium phosphate, Potato starch, Potassium bicarbonate)

Baking powder substitutes

If you don’t want to use any of the baking powder products, you can still achieve a leavening result with some homemade substitutions.

Baking soda is widely available and it is gluten-free (as I explained above). You just need to find an acid to react with it. As it will be an instant reaction as soon as you mix them, be prepared to quickly put your batter in the oven or the gas would be spent. You can pair up baking soda with the following easily available acids (in order of acidity, which means the more acidic it is, the less you need):

• lemon or lime juice (~pH 2)
• other citrus fruit juices (like grapefruit or orange) (~pH 3-4)
• apple cider vinegar (~pH 3)
• cream of tartar (~pH 5)
• sparkling or carbonated water (~pH 4-5)

Gluten-free recipes with baking powder

We use baking powder in several gluten-free dessert and breakfast recipes. It is absolutely a pantry staple.

• Sweet Potato Brownies (GF, V)
• Red Lentil Pancakes (GF, V)
• Red Lentil Waffles (GF, V)

For these recipes we used baking soda with apple cider vinegar as a great substitute for baking powder.

• Fudge Chocolate Brownies (GF, V)
• Chocolate Cake (GF, V)